Minister of State at the Department of Transport, Ms. Hildegarde Naughton is set to introduce regulations that will double the fixed charges relating to key road safety offences including speeding, phone use and non-wearing of seatbelts. 

The move will see the fine for speeding increase from €80 to €160 and the fine for using a mobile phone while driving or for not wearing a seatbelt will double to €120. Fines will be doubled for other offences that put the safety of vulnerable road users at risk.

The announcement was made at the Road Safety Authority  and An Garda Síochána’s mid-summer road safety appeal which urged road users to share the roads safely and for drivers to slow down as the peak summer holiday season gets into full swing.

The highest number of monthly fatalities in 10 years was recorded in August 2021 with an alarming total of 22 deaths. 2022 has already seen a 42% increase in fatalities compared to the same period in 2021. 94 people have been killed on the roads so far this year, an increase of 28 deaths.

Speaking at the launch of the Road Safety Appeal at ATU Donegal, Minister of State at the Department of Transport, Ms. Hildegarde Naughton said: “I am gravely concerned about the high number of deaths on our roads this year. We need to act now to stem this increase. Accordingly, I intend to double the fines for key road traffic offences which are putting drivers, pedestrians, and cyclists at most risk of death on our roads. For example, the fine for speeding will soon increase from €80 to €160 and the fine for using a mobile phone while driving or for not wearing a seatbelt will double to €120. I will also be doubling fines for offences which put the safety of our children who are walking, cycling, or scooting to school at risk. Increasing fines for these offences will act as a stronger deterrent to those who break our lifesaving rules of the road.”

Ms Liz O’Donnell, Chairperson, Road Safety Authority said: “We have seen a devastating increase in road trauma this year. 94 people have died and 673 seriously injured. All of us have a responsibility to stop this upward trend in road crashes. I want to commend the Minister’s decision to double the fines for drivers who break lifesaving rules of the road. There are too many people being killed and seriously injured and we must act to prevent more families from going through this trauma.”

Ms O’Donnell added, “At the RSA we will be launching a new campaign to highlight what’s known as the ‘Speed Fallacy’. The ‘Speed Fallacy’ is the belief that you save lots of time by speeding on a journey when in fact the time savings are miniscule, a minute or two at most on an average journey.”

At the launch, Assistant Commissioner Paula Hilman, Roads Policing and Community Engagement, An Garda Síochána also announded the introduction of 61 new safety camera zones, bringing the total number of safety camera zones nationwide to 1,373, nationwide.